


Challenges of Being Fed Up

by Lunaraen



Series: Challenges of [1]
Category: Challenge of the Spooky Isles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Broken Bones, Magical Realism, Post Season 1, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 04:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14072484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaraen/pseuds/Lunaraen
Summary: He's determined.(Other words for that are stubborn and stupid, but he's heard them plenty and he doesn't need his own mind echoing them back. Besides, he can think of that easy enough just by looking at the bubbling ooze and jagged thorns and spikes.)





	Challenges of Being Fed Up

Kate's a rotten, lying, backstabbing good for nothing.

So it goes without saying that Durango hates her, the person who won't stop toying with them and twisting their emotions at every possible turn, to the point of playing along and making them think they were free before ripping their chance at freedom out from right under their feet, more than anything.

But this forest is getting to be an awful close second.

It's suffocating, trees close enough together that it's just a thick sea of twisting branches and trunks that seem to stretch up into forever, far higher than any trees have any right to and enough that even the bright blue of the sky is distant and hidden above winding webs of dense leaves and too many trees.

At this point, he thinks it's night, but there are too many plants everywhere, especially up, and not enough light ever seems to pass through the layers of leaves.

When monsters start to spawn seems like the reasonable answer, but even that seems random. The only guarantee is that every nasty critter popping up and skittering under these trees has eight legs and fangs more than big and sharp enough to tear flesh from bone (and that they can blend in whenever they feel like it because _of course_ they can.).

Durango hates spiders.

He really hates camouflaging spiders that are too smart for their own good, blending into their murky surroundings and adding to his paranoia (the snakes he swears he can hear, hissing as they slither through the tall grasses and tangled brambles, but can't see, save for hints of shiny tails that might be shifting spiders or tricks of the light, also don't help).

He hates every single thing about these woods.

In past challenges, for better or worse, Kate was happy dragging them from island to island with just enough time to get cozy but not too much before she ripped them away and blew up their shelter. It meant he didn't have to worry about the biome driving him crazy, though. Before Kate kidnapped them all, he'd never really been anywhere that wasn't mesa, which was plenty varied but also predictable to some point.

During the challenges, the snow and ice of the tundra was a pain, but not for long, and at least the forests they went to before were more open and varied.

But they've been here, on this island, or demented twisted little heart of an island, for _days_.

She's seen that they aren't willing to compete, that they want to work as a team, and she's twisting that too so now the four of them all have to work together through unfair challenges.

And it's starting to get to him.

Maybe that's this island's 'special thing', but Kate's been directly vague and weird about what's so spooky about this island and that doesn't help either.

Splitting up isn't a good idea.

It's bad enough when they're forced to separate, split up into pointless teams. Actively trying to stay away from the others is even worse.

But it's what Durango's doing.

They were trying to set up camp earlier when they got ambushed by less than friendly and more than bite-y wildlife. They chased them off well enough, but not before one of them bit up River's arms something nasty, covering her in webbing to keep her from being able to fight back.

She's fine, he knows, and Quinn and Toby are probably still occupied making sure she's okay after wrapping her up.

He just happened to sneak off as soon as they were sure River was gonna be alright.

See, before they decided to set up camp for the night (day?), they came across a pretty obvious obstacle course that had either been set up by or at least meddled with by Kate.

Durango can still see the key shining from here, light from the line of redstone torches illuminating the whole mess glinting off of it. It's on top of a tall rock, surrounded by thorns and sludge that looks toxic and smells it too.

The tree branches above this area are even thicker and more crowded, inexplicable but very sharp thorns lining them, making climbing a tree and just jumping to the rock out of the question.

The only visible way to get there is a shoddy line of planks strung up above the pit of thorns and goo by weak vines.

Kate was at least nice enough to explain, through a suspicious note this time, that the platforms would get lower and lower the longer somebody stood on them, and that at least three of the platforms would have to be lowered for the rock pillar at the end to sink enough for them to just jump on it and get the key.

(The key itself is to a suspicious looking temple that might have supplies they need and be their only way out of here, and it's all more than enough to make Durango feel off.)

Problem?

River's out of commission until she heals, which she might not fully do even with the food they have. But if he could somehow get the key, they could definitely have enough food, maybe even some bandages or potions, and they'd be on their way out without having to wait for the spiders to come and pick them off or try to zero in on River, with her being an injured target.

(She's smarter than all get out, but she's not exactly the strongest even when she's able to use both arms.)

The question becomes how in the world Durango's going to do a puzzle meant for three people on his own. Kate never mentioned how low was low enough, though, so if he just stays on the planks long enough for them to lower before jumping to the next one... well, he doubts she'd leave a loophole like that in, but worst case, he can just jump across them all and try to climb the rock at the end. He's sure it's not as smooth as it looks. Even if it is...

"I can handle this just fine on my own. Who needs others?" He brushes off the front of his shirt, adjusts his hat so the brim is just above his eyes without affecting what he can see, and runs before he jumps.

It's more of a stumble than a landing, but he grabs on tight enough to one of the vines and his feet more or less land on the wood and not in the poison, so that's good enough for him.

Some people would say it's a death wish, just like all the other times he's ever tried to do something solo in these challenges.

He's determined.

(Other words for that are stubborn and stupid, but he's heard them plenty and he doesn't need his own mind echoing them back. Besides, he can think of that easy enough just by looking at the bubbling ooze and jagged thorns and spikes.)

Durango waits, ignoring the feeling of eyes burning holes in the back of his neck and how he gets closer to the ground with every moment, and jumps. It's a similarly rough landing, but one he makes.

Besides, once he gets through this? He gets them the key they need, they can actually get out of here, and they won't have to wait around for Kate to make up more pointless garbage to try and slow them down. Not here, anyway.

He waits, jumps again.

And stumbles without landing.

He does land, of course. It's just not where he wanted to, or even where he realized he would land until it's far too late.

The first thing he becomes aware of is that it suddenly really hurts to stand, the next being that hunger's already started clawing at him from the inside as his body desperately tries to heal from what he already knows isn't a good outcome.

The third?

The horrible bloodcurdling scream he heard came from him and he has to actively bite back any more screams, another one desperately clawing its way up his throat, as he falls to the ground, instead cursing up a storm as he tries to get the world to stop spinning and his leg to stop searing, ignoring the various cuts from the thorns and the way the poison is clinging to and eating at his skin.

Even trying to get to his feet just has him collapse and land right back on points and sludge as his stomach growls, body desperate to heal with no resources to do it.

For a terrified moment, he's not sure if anyone heard him at all, because noise travels weird here just like everything else and it would figure, or if only the spiders did, and past the pain pounding in his ears he can hear the bushes rustle.

Then the bushes stop moving as Quinn bursts through them, moving faster than he's seen her in a while since things became strategic, and she looks mad enough to kill with a look and she's coming right for him and suddenly Durango finds himself almost wishing the fall had killed him.

* * *

 

Now, he knows Quinn hates Kate. He knows Quinn cares about all of them.

Still, Durango thinks it's only because of these two things that she hasn't just thrown him to the wolves (not that that's an option, but he appreciates not being hurled at the spiders and maybe-snakes). Or Kate.

"What were you thinking?"

Toby and River, in fairness, are doing their best to stay on their side of the makeshift cobble and dirt shelter and kindly pretend they can't hear what's going on just a few feet away, and Durango finds himself grateful for that as he tries not to shrink under Quinn's gaze.

"...I was trying to get us out."

He couldn't even get out of the tar pit without Quinn tossing him a vine and hauling him out.

"On your own. By sneaking away from us while we were busy helping River." Durango doesn't look her in the eye, trying to hide behind the brim of his hat and focus on the way the light of the fire dances dimly against the walls and floor, but he doesn't need to with how he can practically hear her eyes twitching. "I thought you said even you needed friends."

"Sometimes." Durango swallows, wondering if how dry his mouth feels is because of shame or because of the poison still wearing off. His clothes, at least, aren't covered in it anymore, soaked though he might be after having a couple of buckets dumped on him to get it off. "I thought I could handle it."

His shirt's still by the fire, drying off, but he's having enough trouble trying to defend what he did to Quinn without having more reason to be embarrassed.

He'll take the damp and uncomfortable pants.

"How'd that work out for you?" Quinn sighs after a moment, trying to straighten out her frazzled ponytail as she sits down on the floor across from him, voice turning softer but not gentler as her stress bleeds into it. "Durango, if we hadn't heard you, a spider could've easily gotten to you and there'd be no way for you to fight back."

He crosses his arms over his chest, frowning in a way that's more of a pout than intended.

"I didn't break my arms."

River winces at the comment and Durango really wishes he could think before speaking, only just stopping himself from glancing at her bandaged arms, and he goes back to glaring at the ground.

Just a leg. Like that's any better.

"You were going to just punch giant flesh-eating spiders to death? A whole pack of them could've decided you were an easy meal." Quinn gives a tiny, tired laugh that's more scary than reassuring as she runs her fingers through her ponytail again. "You scared all of us, Durango. We had just enough food to help River heal up, and she's still dizzy."

River speaks up this time and Durango's heart sinks low enough to settle right beside his stomach.

"A-ah, really, it's not that bad." But it's bad, it's bad and she could use food, food that's now going to go to him once they find it and he screwed up he screwed up big time.

Weak link.

He's the weak link and this isn't at all how he wanted it to turn out.

If the others get hurt, they aren't weak links, because Toby, Quinn, and River are all smart and clever, even if Quinn's also strong, and he'd never expect them to just carry the team.

But if he wants to be a team player, he has to do better than this. He's no good to anybody dead, respawn or no respawn, and while he's good at throwing a punch, he's got to be able to do more than just hobble around with a busted leg to do it.

"...'m sorry."

He wants to get them home.                           

But right now he's not sure if he wanted to be a team player or just a hero more, and he knows which one sounds more selfish. He was probably just playing the hero and screwing it up, and now they'll have to help him even more.

"I believe you." Quinn gives a delayed smile before pushing herself to her feet. "The best thing you can do, for us and for you, is get some rest until we can find some food."

"...right." Durango tips his hat forward even more, hoping they'll think he's asleep before they think he's dying of shame.


End file.
